After 12 hours of work in the VA heat and humidity I finally got the softfit finished on the nest box side and some of the drip edge in place. DH said from here on out I could finish the work as he's needing to move onto other projects. I just want the coop finished before the girls turn 4 weeks old as they are quickly out growing their homemade brooder.
My question is about the inside of the coop at the rafters - we had decided to wait and see if insulation is really needed in the ceiling area of the coop and that leaves the rafters exposed for now. Should I (A) go ahead and get insulation and cover the area in plywood or (B) just cover the exposed rafter area with 1/4" hardware cloth to keep predators out - either way I plan to caulk any gaps and paint - but the carpentry isn't exactly plumb.
Here is the rafter area inside the coop showing the exposed rafters and no insulation
Here is the outside view of the vented softfits I installed - there are 3 vents on the back and there will be 3 on the front when I'm done.
If there truly is a benefit to insulating I would go ahead and do it because I prefer to have a finished ceiling overhead and use my 1/4" hardware cloth for other purposes. But I don't want to insulate and find it causes problems and then have to rip it out and put in the cloth. What do you all think?
My question is about the inside of the coop at the rafters - we had decided to wait and see if insulation is really needed in the ceiling area of the coop and that leaves the rafters exposed for now. Should I (A) go ahead and get insulation and cover the area in plywood or (B) just cover the exposed rafter area with 1/4" hardware cloth to keep predators out - either way I plan to caulk any gaps and paint - but the carpentry isn't exactly plumb.
Here is the rafter area inside the coop showing the exposed rafters and no insulation

Here is the outside view of the vented softfits I installed - there are 3 vents on the back and there will be 3 on the front when I'm done.

If there truly is a benefit to insulating I would go ahead and do it because I prefer to have a finished ceiling overhead and use my 1/4" hardware cloth for other purposes. But I don't want to insulate and find it causes problems and then have to rip it out and put in the cloth. What do you all think?